Just Listen!
by S2 Intelligence
Summary: Something's definitely off about the blue blur, what with his late night runs of exhaustion and snappy behavior. But Knuckles is determined to get to the bottom of his – grudgingly admitted – friend's problem, even if he'll have to push him to his breaking point. But what happens when he goes over the edge and he learns something he'd never suspect? (Sonic &Knuckles brotherly)


**_So there are a lot of Sonic brotherly fics with Tails and Shadow, but I don't see a lot with Knuckles, or at least, not to the same extent the first two are taken up to. Which is why I've decided to contribute and written my own. Difference is that it's Sonic who's out of wack and Knuckles is the one that has to set him straight. _**

**_Again, this story takes place in the Sega Games, because I don't really get updated on any other continuity and there's a lot of liberty to add things between game installments. However, because of the nature of the SEGA verse, I took another shot at creating a different past for Sonic, though I'm pretty sure it doesn't sound very original. It's not, honestly, because the background is inspired by Archie's Jules and Bernadette and the plot of the roboticizer, but they only come as a mention. No other character from that continuity comes to play in here._**

**_By the way, this is also a response thingy to the events of Lost World, where Sonic gets his impulsive nature deconstructed terribly and, even at the start, he acts a bit darker than, say, in Generations or Colors._**

**_Disclaimer: Hey, all I ever wanted is to actually own one of the Sonic games, but since I can't even afford that…obviously, Sonic and company belong to SEGA, with mentions of Jules and Bernadette and the roboticizer belonging to Archie, I think (yay for them)._**

**_Enjoy. Or something. xD _**

* * *

"Hey, Sonic." Knuckles greeted, leaning back comfortably on the soft armchair, his legs crossed and his arms folded. Nevermind that he was inside the hedgehog's living room, alone, at half past midnight, and had only revealed himself when the speedster had come home and turned on the lights.

"Knuckles!" He exclaimed, genuinely surprised, almost jumping back. However, shock was easily replaced by anger and suspicion, and he narrowed his eyes. "What the hell are you doing here?"

The echidna took in a moment to study his friend, noticing the slight pant with each breath, the shadows under his eyes and the slouch and tremble in his figure. This alone confirmed Tails' story that Sonic would run himself to exhaustion just so he could sleep at night, something very unusual, aside from the antagonistic welcome.

"Whoa, since when did _you_ take after Shadow?" He replied smoothly, raising an eyebrow in response to his heated tone. In any other situation, he would've risen up to the bait and said something more snarky, but he had told himself earlier that he would not allow himself to get riled up by whatever Sonic had to say.

"Since when did _you_ come down from that island just to catch up?" the hedgehog bit back. "Last I checked, _I _had to be the one to fly up there just to separate you from that rock of yours and get a social life."

"What's with the attitude?" He asked, not resisting the urge to scowl this time. Stalling with questions wasn't really his sort of thing, so perhaps it would be better to get straight to the point before Sonic would dismiss him completely. "And for the record, I didn't come here to catch up. Tails asked me to talk to you – "

Sonic cut him off with a hallow, bitter laugh.

"Oh, is _that_ why he's staying over at Amy's tonight?" He asked, throwing his hands out in disbelief. "Should've figured he'd get _you_ to talk to me."

By his acidic tone now and sulky behavior as of late, it was clear that something had changed in the usually upbeat, optimistic hedgehog's system of equilibrium, something that was noticed by most of his friends the past few days, something he was determined to find out before it could get worse.

"Tails was right, something's wrong with you." Knuckles said, standing up so that he was eye level with the hedgehog as he studied him closely. "You can be arrogant and snarky at times, but you were never this hostile."

"Tails tries to read into me too much." Sonic replied, crossing his arms and leaning on the doorway, not even entering the room as if to keep his distance. "I'm just tired a lot, that's all."

That is, if the hedgehog would stop being so stubborn for him to find out what was bothering him.

"You're having sleeping problems and insomnia." Knuckles tested, receiving confirmation for his suspicions when Sonic flinched but tried to hide it. "And you've been distant and angry lately too, ever since you came back from the Lost Hex."

At the last word, Sonic grit his teeth and pushed himself off the wall, turning away to go up the stairs.

"I don't have time for this. Sleep on the couch for all I care, I'm going to bed."

"Sonic, wait!" Knuckles shouted after him, not wanting to drop the topic when it seemed to have been the cause for his hostility, and the possible answer to figuring the speedster out, just as he and the fox concluded when they had spoken that morning. "Tails told me all about what happened there."

Sonic looked over his shoulder, a blank, unreadable expression on his face. "He did, huh? How much do you know, then?"

"Everything." Knuckles said. "The Deadly Six, the conch shell, Eggman and his Roboticizer…"

At the last one, Sonic visibly cringed, wrapping his arms around himself which he quickly made to look like he was crossing them over his chest, seemingly not wanting to show how much he was affected by the reminder of his latest adventure.

"You can mock me all you want then, Knuckles, about everything I did wrong." He said darkly, glaring. "But wait until the morning."

Before he could turn away, however, Knuckles grabbed him by the shoulder, forcing him to stay put.

"I'm not here to make fun of you, okay?" He said, putting a little heat into his tone before calming down. The speedster's last statement answered what he needed to know about what was bothering him; his guilt over what happened in his last adventure making him retreat into himself instead of talking to someone about it. Predictable. "Look, I understand how hard that must've been for you, but that's in the past now, and you've learned from your mistake, right? Don't be so rash and – "

" – and I've heard this a million times, already!" He shouted, breaking free of his grasp, surprising the guardian. "Don't you think I realize that now? Don't you think that every time I look at Tails all I see is when he was roboticized, or when I see Amy or you, I'm reminded of how the life was sucked out of everything like it was then? All because it was my fault!"

"Well, yeah, technically it was…" Knuckles said slowly, not finding any argument with his statement. But clearly he was beating himself up over nothing, and he needed to be told that. "But everything turned out okay in the end – "

"That's just it!" Sonic said, throwing his arms in the air in anger. "It turned out alright this time, and it turned out alright the other times, but who says I'm going to be that lucky _all_ the time? The world almost ended because of me, Knuckles. You, Amy, Tails – _everyone_ could've died because _I_ screwed up. This time, it was because I was impulsive. What about the next time, huh? Will it be because I'm not strong enough? Will it be because I'm not smart enough? Huh? What?"

Knuckles watched, confused and concerned, as the angry hedgehog continued his tirade. It seemed he was wrong about what was causing the change in him, or rather, he had not dug deep enough to see what was the root of his anger and guilt. It was as if they had already been brewing for some time and the events at the Lost Hex were only a trigger for him to release his pent-up emotions, emotions that were affecting him way too much than it should.

"I could've lost everything again!" Sonic yelled, no longer quite addressing the echidna, instead pacing around the living room, talking to himself. "I should've seen it before, it was _right in front of my eyes_. Every single time the world is in danger, it was all because of _me_, all because of _my_ failures, _my_ weaknesses, not anybody else's! I can't take that, I can't lose everything, _everyone_, again. Damnnit. Not. Again…!"

That was where he was wrong, Knuckles thought, and he jumped at the opportunity to correct him. "But you _haven't_ lost anything, at least not yet. Sure, there were a few close calls, but you always came out on top, right? You can't beat yourself up for something that might've happened but never di – "

"Shut up." Sonic growled, turning to glare at him. "Just. Shut. _Up_."

Knuckles obeyed, shocked at his commanding tone. The hedgehog advanced onto him, a threatening look on his face as if he was ready to attack.

"_Don't_ talk like you know, because you _don't_." Sonic said through gritted teeth as the guardian was backed into a wall. "You have _no idea_ what I've lost, what _my_ actions and what _my_ shortcomings have cost me. So don't you even _try_ to patronize me."

"What…what are you talking about?" He asked uncertainly. He had no idea what the hedgehog was meant, but it seemed that, whatever it was, it was the key to understanding his guilt and anger and his present mindset.

"_Don't you get it_?!" Sonic yelled, jabbing a finger at him. "I _have_ lost everything before. My parents _died_ protecting me, because I was _weak_, because I was _defenseless_. If I had been _fast_ enough, they would've been alive and _here with me_ today, _not_ roboticized and _dead_!"

Sonic clenched his fist and drew it back, to which Knuckles' instinct took over and he ducked. When the sound of bone meeting concrete cracked through the air, he looked up to see that Sonic had never aimed for him, instead splintering the wall a little bit to the left, far away where he wouldn't have gotten hurt.

"It's _my_ actions, not anyone _else's_, that causes people _trouble_." Sonic hissed, no longer acknowledging his presence, as he threw more punches to the wall with every angrily pronounced word. "_I_ should be the one who should _suffer_, not them! If I were really the _hero_ everyone says I am, then why don't I go _kill myself_ and save everyone the _trouble_ of paying for my _mistakes_.!"

The break in the wall became bigger with each blow as small chips embedded itself into his fists, drawing blood and staining his white gloves. Tears had started to form in his eyes and when the last few words left his lips along with a sickening crack of the wall, Knuckles could take no more of his self-destructive behavior.

He grabbed him by the arms, pinning them to his side and forcefully turned him so that they were facing each other.

"Enough, Sonic!" He said, his voice unusually high. "I'm sorry, I never knew. But please…that's _enough_."

The anger and rage in Sonic's eyes died, revealing the hurt he rarely felt or showed as he started to tremble again. With a silent gasp, he sunk to the ground, burying his head in his arms, his knees raised in front of him as silent sobs wracked his body. Over and over again, he kept mumbling apologies for his behavior and other things the echidna could not understand.

Knuckles had never known the hedgehog to be even remotely discouraged, so the sight before him of a crying, emotionally beaten down Sonic was unfamiliar and painful to witness, and he clenched his own fists tightly. He had never suspected he had hidden something that terrible, and had never realized how deeply the root of his self-anger and guilt was planted in his conscience.

All this was a shock and very upsetting and he did not know nor could he find the words that would make anything better, for either him or the hedgehog, so he chose to remain silent. Instead, he sat down beside him and placed a hand around his shoulders, trying to offer whatever comfort he could give with his presence.

He did not know nor care what time it was when Sonic's shoulders stopped shaking and he raised his head, leaning back against the wall with a tear-streaked face and eyes that stared at nothing.

"I was six when Eggman began roboticizing people on our island…" He began quietly, causing Knuckles to look over at him sadly, deciding not to speak and to just listen. "My parents were in the military, war veterans, and they wouldn't go without a fight. So Eggman kidnapped me, used me as leverage…I didn't know what was happening because I was too slow, too…_afraid_ to fight or escape…they had no choice."

He shut his eyes tightly, obviously lost in the memory. "Ever since then, I promised myself I'd be the fastest, to never be too slow to lose anything again. I told myself I'd always look forward, to live in the moment, to not let anything get past me. And I was happy like that, you know? I thought I was doing what was right, I thought I was making things better for everyone…"

"But you were!" Knuckles reasoned, speaking softly but with as much conviction as he could. "You said so yourself, never look back…I thought you always believed that?"

"I did." Sonic opened his green eyes, turning to head to meet his own violet ones. "But when that Time Eater came up and I had to relive everything I went through since that day, what I thought were all my good deeds were my _failures_, shoved right back into my face! I was too focused on 'looking forward' that I blinded myself to the past, to my weaknesses."

"Getting Tails captured and having the world's energy sucked out…that was enough proof to tell me that I was right, that it was my actions that puts people in danger I can't protect them from. Heck, I'd already lost my family because I made a mistake and got caught. If I had been fast or brave enough, I might've saved them, do you understand?"

"Sonic…" Knuckles said slowly, hoping that what he was about to say would make sense to his friend instead of further fuelling his depression. "Your parents' death, what could you have done?"

Sonic opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out and he closed it again in confusion.

"That's it…" Knuckles said. "You were a kid then, there's nothing you could've done. You can't blame yourself for that, and your parents wouldn't have wanted you to get yourself in danger anyway."

Sonic shook his head, resting his elbows onto his knees again. "But what about all the other times, then? It was always because of me the world almost gets blown to bits. It was because of my shortcomings and weaknesses that something bad always happens. We've been lucky enough that everything turns out alright, but who's to say that's going to happen _every time_? And it would be my fault, just like it was when they died. It would be all. my. fault…"

For a few moments, Knuckles was silent. Although he knew the hedgehog had a tendency to take full responsibility for more than his actions and could be a noble idiot to a fault, he never knew it ran to the extent that he was beating himself up for everything that went wrong. In a way, he was right; he _had_ made mistakes before and his actions _had_ led to consequences that involved more than what they were willing to lose.

And yet, he thought to himself, why was it that things had always turned out okay and the world was saved? Surely, pure luck wasn't the reason the bad guys always lost and everything goes back to normal. What was it that always stood in the way of complete annihilation of everything's existence, every single time?

It was a blue hedgehog, a part of him automatically answered.

"It's you…" He mumbled to himself, causing the hedgehog to stare at him with weary eyes. "Don't you see? Things have always turned out alright because of _you_, Sonic. You may be the cause of some of the bad things that happen, but it's not like you do them on purpose! And when you do, you find a way to right what was wrong, every single time!"

"I've seen you do the impossible just to make up for someone's mistakes, not just your own. You've come back from the dead, gone super, survived a black hole, battled and defeated a time lord like it was nothing. You've _always_ been fast enough, strong enough, smart enough, and a heck lot of others things, to always come out on top. You're the one that acts and saves the day, not anyone else!"

Sonic stared at him, and for a second, hope shimmered in his eyes before it disappeared, and he knocked his quills back into the wall.

"But what if one day I don't?" Sonic replied miserably. "What if one day I screw up so bad that it can't be reversed?"

Without skipping a beat, Knuckles answered "That won't happen! You know why? Because you've always fought to make up for your mistakes, regardless of how big they are. You'll find a way, just like you always have."

A few tense moments of silence passed between them, to which the speedster stared at him with unblinking, miserable eyes.

"Will I?" Sonic whispered, looking down. "I wish…but I don't think I can believe you. I don't think I want to."

Knuckles sighed, slightly annoyed by how stubborn Sonic could be, but replied nonetheless. "Don't then, if you really can't, at least not now. _I_ believe you'll always make up for your mistakes, so at least that's one of us."

Sonic snapped his gaze to him, blinking in shock before asking quietly "You do?"

Knuckles raised an eyebrow at him, surprised that he to even had to ask. "Of course! I always have, Sonic. And if you ask any one of the others I'm sure they'd say the same."

Sonic sighed, closing his eyes and leaning back. "Maybe…" He mumbled, looking thoughtful, as if he was deeply considering what Knuckles had said. He wasn't so sure how much he had gotten through to him, but as long as he was reassured of his place and his friends, he knew he would be alright.

When Sonic's head lolled to the side and dropped onto his shoulder, he remembered that it was technically night time and he was already tired from his midnight run. Slowly, he placed the peach arm over his shoulder as his hand supported his side and lifted him with relative ease onto the couch, where he shifted to make himself comfortable.

It wasn't until Knuckles closed the light and rested himself onto one of the chair in the room that Sonic's sleepy voice called softly.

"Thanks, Knux…" He whispered groggily, earning a smile from the echidna. "I always knew I could count on you…"

"Anytime." He replied moments later, when the sound of light snoring filled the room. "I'll be here anytime you need me to be."

* * *

_"You want_ me_ to talk to _him_?"_

_"Yes…" Tails replied uncertainly with a cheesy smile. When he gave the young fox an 'are-you-serious-?' look with crossed arms to match, he continued "He's so quiet and distant lately and he won't talk to me straight! I keep asking him if something's wrong but he just won't tell me."_

_"Yeah, I _have_ noticed something's up with blue…" Knuckles agreed. "But if he won't admit that to _you_, then why would he admit that to _me_?"_

_"Ugh, because he trusts you?" Tails said, as if it were obvious. When Knuckles gave him an incredulous look, he added "He does! Why do you think he always has you come along on our adventures?"_

_"Because you guys need a three man team?" He raised an eyebrow._

_"What? No!" Tails said, waving his hands. "Believe it or not, Sonic has a lot of faith in you and that you'll always have his back, and mine too when I'm there. He's not really the sentimental kind, but I know you're the closest thing he has to a best friend."_

_"Me?" He asked, pointing to himself. "Me, who he likes to rile up and tease relentlessly? Me, who butts heads with him every time we meet? What about _you_?"_

_Tails shook his head. "No matter what I do, he'll always try to protect me, and the things that happened at the Lost Hex probably haven't helped. In fact, that's when his change began! I bet it's because he's still blaming himself for everything that happened."_

_"I still don't understand why _I_ have to be the one to talk to him." Knuckles said, getting impatient. If it weren't that he owed the fox for his help with a few things with the Master Emerald, he'd have ended the conversation and moved on to other things._

_"My point is, if there's something that's really wrong with Sonic, then you'd be the one he'd open up to the most. He really values you as a friend and I think he'd only accept the help he needs from someone he knows he can trust. Which is you."_

_"Tails, it's not that the feeling isn't mutual and I don't want to help," he explained slowly, not used to admitting that the hedgehog _did_ matter to him, in spite of their differences. "but am I really the right person to talk to him about this? For all we know, we might just end up brawling like we always do."_

_"I don't know, Knuckles!" Tails said, throwing his head back in mild desperation. "All I know is it's affecting him enough that he can't sleep unless exhausted and I'm afraid he might get worse. He's shutting me out for reasons I don't understand and you're the only one left that has a chance of getting through to him."_

_Knuckles sighed and closed his eyes, admitting that Tails was right. "Fine. I'll do it. But he better change back to the same cocky, impatient, hyperactive, speed demon after I'm through with him."_

_"Thanks, Knuckles." Tails said, putting a hand on his shoulder in gratitude. "And look at it this way! Had your roles been reversed and something was wrong with you, Sonic would never hesitate to talk and help you out, right?"_

_'And that's why he's the only one I'd ever trust as much as he does me.' He thought to himself when Tails had left him that evening to wait for Sonic's return. 'So how can I say no to helping a friend like him?'_

* * *

**_Forgive me if Sonic and Knuckles are a bit too OOC, but I honestly feel like it's justified, even for the latter. Frankly, there are too little fics about the friendship between these two (I'm not into shipping for this fandom) which was the main motivation for writing this. Or something like that… xD_**

**_Anyway, as usual, I'm going to hope that you'll review and let me know what you think (I deliberately allow anon reviews) but again, I don't like imposing it on anyone, so just feel free. I guess you can say you can flame me if you want, but while I can tolerate a little fire I don't exactly welcome it with open arms. Good thing for me though, I'm trying to take a page out of Sonic's book and just be confident with myself. ;)_**

**_So review if you want to let me know what you think, and thanks for taking the time to read this story and the AN, if you are. Hope to see you soon in the next fic. ^^_**


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